Carolyn Farb (born February 8, 1940) is a philanthropist, fundraiser and art collector. She has raised more than 50 million dollars for numerous charitable causes. Farb is a resident of

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael ...

, a wealthy neighborhood in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Biography

As a young adult, Farb volunteered at the

Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is an acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. With 973 beds, it is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located within the Texas Medical ...

, working in the snack bar. She studied journalism at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Farb was initially known for her marriage and subsequent divorce from the wealthy "real estate king" Harold Farb, but starting in the early 80s, she became better known for her parties and fundraisers that benefit various causes. Carolyn Farb and Harold Farb were divorced in 1983 in a suit that was reported to cost $20 million. Farb received an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood Universit ...

in 2003.

Philanthropy

Farb raised more than 1 million dollars for cancer research for the Stehlin Foundation with a single gala (she is the first woman and first Texan to raise a million dollars in a single gala), helped to raise more than $3 million in one campaign for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, and worked with other notable Houston celebrities to raise more than half a million dollars for tsunami relief. 2008 she co-chaired the Helping A Hero Gala to benefit the Wounded Hero Home Program with the Honorable and Mrs. George Strake Jr., and Houston Mayor Bill White.

Author

''How to Raise Millions: Helping Others, Having a Ball'' by Carolyn Farb, 1993, ''The Fine Art of Fundraising'' by Carolyn Farb, 2004, Emmis Books, ''Lucas Comes to America'' by Carolyn Farb, 2011,

Art Collector

Farb is an avid art collector whose tastes range widely from the

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

Contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. She enjoys working with living artists and is often passionate about promoting their work to others. For example, she was active in working to promote the art of painter Dorothy Hood. She became interested in Hood's work in the mid-80s and helped raise money to produce the documentary, "Dorothy Hood: The Color of Life". She began collecting the

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

work of Ingrid Dee Magidson in 2013 after seeing a unique piece at the Houston Art Fair. She has continued to collect Magidson's work, including commissioning her to create an altar.

Notable Artists in Carolyn Farb's Collection

Julian Schnabel Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings"—with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been a ...

Yigal Ozeri Javier Marín

Mark Bradford Mark Bradford (born November 20, 1961) is an American visual artist. Bradford was born, lives, and works in Los Angeles and studied at the California Institute of the Arts. Recognized for his collaged painting works, which have been shown intern ...

Christopher Makos Christopher Makos (born 1948) is an American photographer and visual artist. Makos is known for his photographs of queer icons and pop stars, and of the male body. Makos apprenticed with photographer Man Ray, and assisted and collaborated with art ...

Edward Kienholz Edward Ralph Kienholz (October 23, 1927 – June 10, 1994) was an American Installation art, installation artist and assemblage (art), assemblage sculptor whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled ...

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and filmmaker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmma ...

James Surls

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

References

External links

Carolyn Farb's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farb, Carolyn American philanthropists American socialites People from Houston Living people Northwood University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)